In the Past
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: It only took so many words to look back. / 1. Albus Dumbledore, 2. Pomona Sprout, 3. Bathilia Bagshot, 4. Bellatrix Lestrange,
1. Albus Dumbledore

**A/N: **This entire collection is written for the 30 words or less challenge, where each entry under a prompt is a maximum of 30 words. This chapter is also written for the If you Dare Challenge, #948 – weeping angels.

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**In the Past  
1. Albus Dumbledore**

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1. Reality Check

He'd been dreaming, about glory and fame. And he'd been too steeped in those dreams to care of the reality that unfolded around him.

If only he'd paid more attention.

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2. Absolutely Alone

And now he was alone; alone, because he'd been foolish, and blind.

His mother and sister were dead. His brother hating hi

m. His best friend was gone.

Alone…all alone…

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3. Prince Charming

Gellert had seemed like the perfect boy, the perfect _friend_. He really should have known Prince Charming didn't exist outside of fairy-tales.

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4. Virgin

Maybe, if he hadn't been so inexperienced and _arrogant_ in the face of the world, he could have saved that childhood.

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5. Good Question

Why? Why did his dream have to crumble like that?

Being great, that wasn't so bad a thing…was it?

Apparently it was, because it had taken so much and then crashed.

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6. Can you Hear Me?

Maybe he could have spared himself that – spared them all that – if he'd just listened to his brother. Listened to him say Gellert was bad news.

He'd deafened himself instead.

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7. I'm Telling

Sometimes, he'd gave in to that little voice in his head, wishing his family gone for the burden they were.

He'd gotten his wish in the worst possible way.

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8. Out of Control

And his dreams were spiralling away, deforming right in front of his face, showing him what worthless thing he'd cursed his family for.

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9. I Love You

He'd loved his family. He really did. And it was far too late to show that to them now. Far too late to do anything…except regret.

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10. Willingness

He would do anything, give anything, to change it all back. But there was nothing tht could mend the past.

There was only the future.


	2. Pomona Sprout

**A/N: **This entire collection is written for the 30 words or less challenge, where each entry under a prompt is a maximum of 30 words. This chapter is also written for the Snakes and Ladders Challenge: Pomona Sprout, and the If you Dare Challenge, 940 – a child's dream.

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**In the Past  
2. Pomona Sprout**

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11. Drunk

Everybody said she had a nice drinking face, made nice company. That made her sound masculine, or old.

She'd wanted to be young and the pretty girl.

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12. Disaster

She couldn't change herself though. She'd tried, and felt absolutely horrible.

That little date – if indeed it could be called that – was a disaster too.

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13. Turned Off

That wild part scene – it wasn't for her. Bit by bit, she drifted away from it. And eventually, she thought to herself: _I've had enough_.

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14. Past, Present, Future

She wondered what it was she really wanted. What she'd always wanted. A friend? A lover? A dependent child?

It was the children, she decided; she was wasting her time with the men.

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15. Dysfunctional

It was pretty crazy of her, trying to get a job with her record. But she managed it. Managed to secure a post at Hogwarts under the Headmaster Dumbledore.

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16. Men

By then she'd managed to turn herself around, and she was happy. Happy teaching. Happy having that chance to change and stay changed.

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17. Behind My Back

Sometimes she heard whispers behind her back, about her less than pristine past. But she'd found her happiness, and she didn't plan to let go of it.

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18. Study Sessions

If someone had told her she'd be teaching when she was back at high school, she would have laughed. But now she loved every moment she spent with her students.

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19. Cut It Out

Sometimes, she remembered the wild nights where she hadn't fit, or was reminded of them. But she'd shake her head and move on, because she had a better place now.

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20. Dreamt

It wasn't what she'd dreamt, but it was the job of her dreams nonetheless.


	3. Bathilia Bagshot

**A/N: **This entire collection is written for the 30 words or less challenge, where each entry under a prompt is a maximum of 30 words. This chapter is also written for the If you Dare Challenge, #932 – never ending (truly).

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**In the Past  
3. Bathilia Bagshot**

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21. Memories

She had an excellent memory, but there weren't many things from her own life worth remembering. If asked, she'd say she lived a pretty boring life.

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22. Finish This

What fascinated her though were the lives of the people in the past. And she was always eager to find our as much as she could.

She loathed being interrupted.

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23. Light

If there was light, she could be found reading though the library's largely unused history texts, jotting down notes and snapping at anyone who bothered her.

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24. Dark

When she found a dark spot in history's pages, she searched another book for an answer.

It was always disappointing when she failed to find the answer at all.

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25. Rule Breaking

Sometimes, in her search, she found herself in the Restricted Section, and eventually, she found a way around the protections.

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26. Holding Hands

She continued her studies after school, never marrying, never forming a family.

Being alone in the past suited her just fine.

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27. Fearful

She did have some interest in the present though; she was always careful not to shut herself off completely, so as not to become a fossil.

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28. Honor

She eventually compiled her findings into a book, and it was a honour when that same book crawled onto the school curriculum.

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29. Transportation

And she dropped by Hogwarts, sometimes, in those younger years, as the library and its stories grew. Sometimes, feeling strangely nostalgic, she'd ride the Express.

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30. Going in Circles

Eventually, she realised she'd exhausted all the history books she could find, and she put down her quill.


End file.
